Biography
Wendy Abkin advises clients on tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), and other state and local taxing agencies. She handles audits, administrative appeals and litigation. Wendy represents individuals, privately-held entities and public companies in a variety of industries including agriculture, technology, pharmaceutical, retail, continuing care and private equity. She has experience with a wide range of issues including tax accounting, licensing and royalties, bad debts, goodwill, valuation, conservation easements, and civil and criminal penalties. She regularly advises clients on California residency disputes and has assisted numerous trusts to understand and manage their exposure to California income tax. Wendy has focused on tax controversy and litigation throughout her career, both in private practice and US government service. She is a former IRS trial lawyer and worked with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in San Francisco, where she litigated cases for the IRS before the United States Tax Court. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Charles E. Clapp of the United States Tax Court in Washington, DC.
Wendy has been active on a number of tax-related committees and bar associations. A current member of the San Francisco Tax Club and the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation, she has previously served as chair of the California State Bar Taxation Section, co-chair of the State Bar of California’s Council of State Bar Sections, and chair of the Tax Court Pro Se Pro Bono program of the California State Bar Taxation Section, which provided free advice and assistance to unrepresented taxpayers appearing in the Tax Court.
Wendy speaks frequently on topics of tax controversy and tax procedure before legal and accounting professional associations, and she has served as an adjunct professor in both the School of Law and the Master’s in Taxation Program at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Awards and Affiliations
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Tax, Law360 (2017)
Recognized, Best Lawyers in America (2010–2011)
Recognized, Northern California Super Lawyers® (2006–2022)
Recognized, Northern California “Top 50 Women” Super Lawyers (2008, 2010–2012)
Recognized, Northern California "Top 100” Super Lawyers (2009)
Recipient, V. Judson Klein Award, Taxation Section, State Bar of California (2007)
Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel